Howden-owned MGA launches biodiversity credit insurance product

Howden-owned specialty MGA Dual has launched a new insurance product aimed at supporting biodiversity net gain (BNG) and encouraging sustainable development.

Since 2021, the UK’s Environment Act has required all new developments in England to simultaneously deliver a minimum of 10% BNG against the pre-development levels.

That BNG can be achieved through the purchase of biodiversity and carbon credits from rewilding and biodiversity projects far from the development itself.

Dual said that the new product would focus on “natural capital” rather than carbon credit capture and give landowners assurance that their land will retain its economic value “irrespective of biodiversity progress”.

According to research from real estate firm Savills, some 7,500 planning applications that include BNG requirements have been submitted since the law came into effect, estimated by Biodiversity Net Gain Services UK at a value of almost £3bn.

With biodiversity progress endangered by factors such as storms and disease, Dual also said that the product would give purchasers of carbon and biodiversity units confidence that their units were protected by a comprehensive insurance programme.

Demand from developers

Dual’s inaugural policy will support the Highlands Rewilding Bunloit project in Scotland.

Simon White, underwriting director and lead underwriter for environment, climate and innovation at Dual UK, said: “This project highlights the growing demand from developers for insurance solutions that address their biodiversity and carbon obligations and liabilities.

“We are speaking to a number of corporate stakeholders who are increasingly engaging with nature markets, recognising both their urgency and potential.

“There’s a growing awareness that for sustainable development to progress, the biodiversity market must scale, and insurance has a key role to play in unlocking that growth. This project marks a significant step forward in enabling nature-positive development and investment.”